


Nighttime Secrets

by Fishpaste



Series: Guns and Roses [4]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: F/F, Morning After, Nudity, Secrets, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:41:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21563161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fishpaste/pseuds/Fishpaste
Summary: Mey Rin wakes up next to the person she loved. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Until it wasn't...
Relationships: Mey-Rin/Grell Sutcliff
Series: Guns and Roses [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1530824
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Nighttime Secrets

Cold…where was the blanket? Mey Rin kicked her legs, trying to see if it had fallen off, but felt no reassuring weight of fabric move with her. Where was it, had it fallen to the floor? It might be summer, but it was still cold at night. So where was it? Other side of the bed? She gave a heartfelt sigh and rolled, reaching out with one hand to find the errant blanket. Instead however, her hand came down on smooth warm skin, a sleeping body next to her that shifted under her hand, murmuring something incomprehensible and Mey Rin’s eyes flew open in panic, what was happening!

She twisted over, sitting up and reaching desperately for her glasses and gun while she squinted at whatever figure had snuck into her bed. As she managed to get her spectacles in place and see who it was memories came flooding back. Oh…right…

Grell Sutcliff was lying on the other side of her narrow bed, head pillowed on her arms as she breathed, eyes shut and expression more relaxed and peaceful than she’d ever seen. Slowly Mey Rin lowered herself back down, staring at the long lashes usually hidden behind her glasses, the high cheekbones and the slightly parted lips. She’d invited her up, blushing fit to explode, and almost entirely convinced that they’d say no. After all, a kiss was one thing, this was something else entirely, and she’d only kissed her a few nights ago, was it moving too fast? But then Grell would be leaving back to London in a little over a week, and Mey Rin was terrified of being forgotten, just a passing fling. So she’d decided to be brave, and just ask her to come up to her bedroom, and then had almost had a fainting fit when the other woman had smiled so eagerly at her and accepted.

And now Grell was asleep next to her, looking as though it was exactly where she belonged, and Mey Rin blushed to think of the things they had been getting up to; far better than in any of her romance books had even hinted at, when it was real and happening to you, not some character on a page. A contented sigh escaped her as she reached over Grell to pull the covers back over them both, unable to resist glancing down at the bared body next to her. She cuddled closer to her lover, listening to Grell’s soft breaths and trying to accept the reality where she, Mey Rin, former assassin and now Phantomhive maid, had a beautiful woman in her bed, sleeping peacefully. It just didn’t seem real, and she smiled wide enough to make her cheeks ache, reaching over to run her fingers through the butlers silky smooth hair, now freed from its ribbon and trailing down her back and neck.

She could hear the clock softly chiming the hour, nearly four in the morning, but right now Mey Rin was feeling wide awake, just getting to enjoy this soft secret time with Grell, who trusted her enough to sleep beside her, who wanted her enough to come to her room with her in the first place, and who cared enough to stay with her and not go sneaking straight off back to her own room the moment they were finished. A gentle smile playing over her face, she continued to stroke her hand through Grell’s hair, carding it, letting the long dark strands twist between her fingers, and admiring the contrast between them and her pale skin.

If someone had asked her a week ago to believe that this could be happening to her she would have laughed nervously and then tried to edge away from an obviously unhinged person. It probably wouldn’t last, once Grell went back to London she’d soon forget about her, but she would treasure it while it lasted. It was a shame she had to keep it a secret as well; but neither she nor Grell were comfortable with the idea of telling Bard or Finny, let alone Sebastian, and the prospect of the young master finding out about it was enough to make her die of embarrassment!

Mey Rin paused in her movements and frowned, caught up in her own thoughts she hadn’t noticed before, but was Grell’s hair getting lighter? And…longer? She sat up, peering in the weak moonlight, trying to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. But she was wearing her glasses, and besides, her fingers were confirming it; the more she ran her fingers through Grell’s hair, the longer and brighter it got. She swallowed, her heart and stomach twisting, what was this? How could someone’s hair grow and change colour in just a few seconds? It simply wasn’t possible! 

She sat up, feeling her pulse pounding beneath her skin, Grell’s hair was down to her waist now, and a fiery red colour, instead of the subdued brown it had always been, and it seemed thicker and wilder than before, like a blazing mane trailing over the white blankets, unmistakable. Maybe she was still dreaming? She pinched herself sharply, and hissed at the pain. Not dreaming then. Going mad perhaps?

Her horrified gaze dragged over the rest of Grell’s body and May Rin swore her breathing stopped entirely. Inside Grell’s slightly opened mouth she could make out the outline of serrated teeth, sharp like a dogs or a cats…and something about her face seemed different as well, sharper, less worried and confused. Her eyebrows were more defined, and she wasn’t frowning, who was this stranger? Where had Grell gone? How had she transformed from a dark haired, nervous young woman into this fiery looking red haired titan? It….it just wasn’t possible! She backed away even more from the imposter, reaching behind her for her gun, only to forget just how close she was to the end of the bed, and fall off it with a muffled shriek of surprise, landing on the floor half tangled up in the blanket and scrabbling frantically for her gun as she heard the stranger on the bed make an inquisitive sleepy noise and shift, sitting up to peer over the edge of the bed at her.

She wished she were dressed, she thought as she stared up at the intruder. Even her eyes were different, a brighter, almost double toned green, practically glowing in the dim light, strange, unnatural and horrifying. A familiar calm settled on Mey Rin as her hand finally closed around the handle of her gun and she swung it up to point straight at the stranger, whose sleepy smile vanished immediately, frowning at the weapon in surprise.

“Mey Rin?” She asked, almost hesitant, and Mey Rin narrowed her eyes grimly, she didn’t know who this stranger was, that her Grell had somehow turned into, but she wasn’t about to lower her weapon.

“Who are you?” She demanded instead, and the stranger only looked more upset and confused, sitting up properly on the bed and peering at her, one hand reaching behind her and grabbing the round glasses Mey Rin was so familiar with. “What happened to Grell?”

“I-I don’t understand, Mey Rin?” The voice was so familiar, still that same soft, almost shy voice she knew so well, it sounded strange coming from the mouth of the red headed beauty before her. Mey Rin scowled and stood up, pulling the blanket with her so she didn’t feel quite so unprotected and keeping the gun levelled at the strangers head. She could call Sebastian, she supposed, but it wasn’t as though there were any danger yet, and she wanted answers.

“You ain’t my Grell, you look completely different! What happened to your hair, and your eyes!” She snapped as the stranger continued to look at her in hurt confusion. At her words they glanced down at themselves, and Mey Rin watched the dawning horror cross their face.

“Oh no, nonononooooo, _dammit!”_ Her hands were in her hair again, combing through it just as Mey Rin’s had earlier, and the burning red was leeching out, the hair becoming thinner and tamer, shrinking back down, a swipe across her mouth and suddenly her teeth were normal again, straight and white, her face shifting, switching back until the timid young butler was blinking up at Mey Rin again, looking as hesitant and nervous as she’d ever seen her.

“Grell?” Mey Rin asked, against all common sense relaxing a little. She shouldn’t, Grell had just proven they weren’t human, they could shift form, change at will, they were dangerous and a threat. But at the same time, they were still the woman who’d been there for Mey Rin in a way she’d never believed anyone would be, and Mey Rin still cared about her. 

“Yes…I….um…could you lower the gun please? I don’t want to get shot…”

“I’m not lowering my weapon! What are you? Who are you! And what do you want here?”

“I’m still me Mey Rin.” Grell said, a faint, slightly sad smile crossing their face. “I’ve always been me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to let you see…me, like that. Should have realised, I was sleeping, not concentrating on holding it in place, it only took a little to release it…stupid.”

“Holding what? What are you Grell, how can you do that?” Mey Rin demanded, voice rising.

“I’m…um, I don’t suppose you’d accept this is all just a dream and forget about it? No? Alright…er…” She frowned, twisting her hair over her fingers as she thought. “Could you please lower the weapon though? Bullet holes would be rather difficult to explain…”

“And have you attack me and go on to attack the young Master or something? I don’t think so.”

“I’m not exactly in a position to attack you, you don’t have to put it down, just stop pointing it at me? Please?”

It was probably a bad idea, but Grell did look sort of small and weak sitting there, and even if it was an act, Mey Rin was confident she could still shoot before Grell could lunge at her or something. So she lowered the weapon but didn’t relax even slightly.

“Thank you.” The smile looked genuine, full of relief. “Mey Rin…um…what I’m going to tell you is rather hard to explain, and to believe really.”

“You just transformed between you and that other person in front of me. I think I can cope with a little unbelievable.”

“…fair point. Right, um…well…as you may have surmised, I’m not entirely human. I’m a Reaper,"

“A what?”

“A Grim Reaper, I look after the dead, make sure they pass on correctly and stop anything from attacking the souls as they move on.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

“Why would you have? We don’t exactly deal much with humans. But…well…we used to be human, long ago. And I’ve never quite forgotten what it was like…so sometimes I like to come back down and, well, pretend to be human again for a little bit. Make friends and eat good food and see the world again…” She said, her tone turning rather wistful and longing. “So when I met the lady Burnett…it seemed a good opportunity. I’m no danger Mey Rin, I would never hurt you. I promise.”

She sounded sincere, and Mey Rin’s confidence wavered a bit. There were clearly plenty of things in this world she didn’t understand, Finny and Sebastian were proof enough that people could, somehow, be brought beyond what would be normally expected for a human…and she wasn’t naive enough to think she knew everything about the supernatural, so the story could be true…

“Was..was that why you kissed me then?” She asked, fists clenching slightly as the thought occurred, “Jus’ for the experience?”

“No! No Mey Rin, no! I kissed you and, um…came up here tonight because of you!” Grell said immediately, straightening up and gazing at Mey Rin fiercely. “Because you’re smart and kind and sweet and you cared about me and accepted me no matter what. Because you are beautiful my dear, even if you don’t believe it, and because I like you, I really honestly do!” She made a move as though to reach out to Mey Rin, noticed the gun again and pulled back, “Even if you don’t believe anything else I’ve told you, please believe that Mey Rin…you are beautiful and amazing and I care about you.”

Mey Rin took a breath…Grell sounded like they were speaking the truth, but they’d been lying to her this whole time, could she trust them? Did she even want to? They wouldn’t have ever told her the truth if she hadn’t found out about it by accident, she knew that…but, well…it wasn’t as though Mey Rin had been honest with the butler either, she’d kept her past hidden and secret and let Grell think she was nothing more than a normal maid who happened to sometimes have a gun to hand.

“Can you change back? I want to see you, the real you.” She asked, lowering the gun almost completely now. She might not trust Grell entirely be, but she didn’t feel as if the other woman were going to attack her, or was any real danger. Grell tilted her head to one side, eyes scanning her face as though checking for sincerity before she raised her hands to her hair once again, combing through them, the red trailing after her fingertips as though she were painting in fire. Her teeth elongated, sharpened, her eye colour deepening and darkening and her bearing changed, sitting up straighter, more confident and controlled.

Mey Rin took in a careful breath and set the gun down on the table, coming to sit on the bed again, meeting Grell’s half worried, half hopeful expression. Now that she was looking properly, she could still see the butler hidden behind the flame headed beauty. They had the same face, the same way of carrying their entire soul in their eyes when they looked at you. Her hands were the same, long and elegant and just beautiful…and that expression, that look of soft gentle warmth when she met Mey Rin’s eyes, that was familiar, intimately familiar. Raising her hands Mey Rin brushed them through her hair, feeling how it was both familiar and strange to touch Grell like this, feeling the pulse under her fingertips pick up slightly as she leaned closer, almost within kissing distance.

“Is it still you?” She asked, quiet and soft.

“It’s still me Mey Rin, I’m still here.” Grell’s hands rose to wrap around hers, solid and warm and reassuring and Mey Rin nodded, she trusted Grell, she trusted that this was still the woman she’d fallen for, the woman who’d swept into her life and swept Mey Rin off her feet. She was still Grell and Mey Rin still loved her.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally written for the Sapphic Sutcliff week on tumblr! Decided it was time to upload it here properly.
> 
> Want to talk more? Come hang out with me on tumblr: Red-Butler


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